John Reger has skin cancer surgery

The matinee idol looks of John Reger have been obscured by a wound that is causing fright.

The former WCCO-TV anchor-reporter had Mohs micrographic surgery to remove skin cancer last week. Reger apparently looks like he's been in a fight. "It is kind of ugly," he said Monday. "You know, you come around the corner and somebody says, What happened to you?!"

A plastic surgeon did the delicate surgery because "I don't want be left with the only option being doing the musical, 'Phantom,'" said the former and hopefully future local broadcaster. The procedure was scheduled before Reger became one of the high-profile WCCO staffers to lose jobs in a round of CBS-mandated budget cuts.

Now that he's not working, Reger's got time to recuperate, travel and indulge his love of films. A sighting of him looking black, blue and gashed at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival is the reason I called Reger. "I'm not looking for sympathy," said Reger.

A musician and former actor and model, Reger and his brother Jerry, who lives in California, have their hands in the film biz. "It's film development, which is the acquisition of rights to books and scripts and developing projects and selling them," said Reger, who hopes to return to work at a Twin Cities station.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.